All Parties Cultivate Bitterly

The Heaven and Earth Oddities are truly "divine artifacts"! If it weren't for the Extraterrestrial Ghoul Lightning directly amplifying his stats, Yang Shan's current Dou Qi Intensity might not have been able to restrain the Snow Demon Sky Ape for long.

As a fifth-tier Thousand Beast King, the Snow Demon Sky Ape's Demon Energy was quite formidable! Under the restriction of the six Extraterrestrial Ghoul Lightning, the Snow Demon Sky Ape's Agility movements were of no use.

Zi Yan used all her strength in that punch, slamming it into the face of the Snow Demon Sky Ape.

Dong! The sound was like the tolling of a bell in a deep mountain temple.

The Snow Demon Sky Ape's head was completely sunk into the ground.

The Thunder Chains also crumbled.

Just as Zi Yan was about to kick the Snow Demon Sky Ape like a ball, the Snow Demon Sky Ape escaped first.

"Eeeeeeeeeee!"

The Snow Demon Sky Ape barked wildly at Zi Yan, and when it bared its teeth, it discovered that one of its prized fangs had been broken off by Zi Yan.

This infuriated the Snow Demon Sky Ape, causing his Demon Energy to surge forth.

The surrounding temperature dropped suddenly, and white frost formed on the leaves.

With a roar, the Snow Demon Sky Ape sent Zi Yan flying.

Even the Dou Qi Light Wings couldn't stabilize its body.

"Ya ya ya!"

Just as Zi Yan lost her balance and was spinning around in the air, Yang Shan came to her rescue.

He put his arm around her waist! Little Zi Yan is still a twelve-year-old girl.

He immediately put his arm around Zi Yan's waist!

But it seems there's no problem.

The older brother is holding his younger sister.

Anyway, Zi Yan didn't think there was a problem; she was in a fit of anger right now.

"That wretched monkey, Yang Shan, beat it up! Beat it up!"

Yang Shan smiled and said:

"Don't be in such a hurry, I'm just about to beat you up."

Seeing Zi Yan suffer a setback, the Snow Demon Sky Ape bent its legs and leaped a hundred meters into the air.

The Snow Demon Sky Ape's fist was much bigger than Zi Yan's.

Yang Shan's Dou Qi Armor probably won't withstand many hits either.

But behind Yang Shan, five remnant spirits had already emerged.

Just as the Snow Demon Sky Ape approached, the five phantoms let out a deafening roar.

Lingering Spirit Hundred Howls!

The sound waves generated a strong wind that lashed fiercely against the Snow Demon Sky Ape's body.

However, this only slightly slowed down the speed at which the Snow Demon Sky Ape charged forward.

The health bar barely changed.

Not to mention being completely unharmed.

It's roughly equivalent to being bitten by a few mosquitoes.

There was no way around it; the Snow Demon Sky Ape's defense was simply too high, while the direct lethality of the five phantoms was indeed quite limited.

Apes are creatures with a wide range of facial expressions.

The Snow Demon Sky Ape now practically has "that's all" written all over its face.

If this were an online friend, they'd probably say something like, "Your yelling is less painful than a cupping treatment!" Looking at the smug expression on the Snow Demon Sky Ape's face, how could Zi Yan tolerate it? She immediately activated her Dou Qi Light Wings and charged forward!

The Snow Demon Sky Ape was about to teach Zi Yan a lesson.

Suddenly, I felt a splitting headache and instinctively covered my head with both hands.

Just then, Zi Yan arrived and delivered a perfect split kick, striking the Snow Demon Sky Ape in the chin.

Compared to Yang Shan's "Lingering Spirit Hundred Howls", Zi Yan's fists and feet are at least five or six times more lethal! The Snow Demon Sky Ape spat out blood, along with a few teeth.

Zi Yan pressed her advantage, relentlessly pounding the Snow Demon Sky Ape with her two small fists.

The Snow Demon Sky Ape howled in pain as it was beaten, and had no choice but to use its Demon Energy to cover its body, forming armor to defend against Zi Yan's fists.

As a result, the Demon Energy was shattered by Zi Yan's pure brute force in less than ten breaths! Yang Shan was also shocked.

One thing is certain: if Zi Yan gets close, probably no student in the entire Inner Courtyard could withstand her punches.

Even Xiao Xun'er couldn't do without the Golden Emperor Burning Flame! The Snow Demon Sky Ape was also incredibly resilient.

Yang Shan was about to draw his sword.

He's a fifth-tier Thousand Beast King, after all, with a considerable amount of experience points. How could he not rack up kills and contribution points? Not only that, he's also the one who finishes off the enemy.

Even after deducting 5 points of Good Fortune, his Good Fortune value is still 61 points.

There's a good chance a lot of good stuff will be revealed.

Before Yang Shan could even get close, a terrifying pressure emanated from afar!

Dou Emperor!

And it's highly likely they're Nine Star Dou Huang! "I knew the Snow Ape's soul lamp was flickering; it turns out it was you two little brats!"

Hu Qian, the dean of the Outer Courtyard, appeared beside Zi Yan and grabbed Zi Yan hand. "Little girl, stop hitting her."

Zi Yan said angrily:

"No, I want revenge, I want to kill it!"

Hu Qian said helplessly, "I've put a lot of effort into training this Snow Demon Sky Ape, I can't let you ruin it!"

Zi Yan looked at Hu Qian in disbelief. "You raised him?"

Hu Qian: "Not bad."

Zi Yan: "We still have to fight. It used to chase me for dozens of miles, taking advantage of my lack of strength at the time."

Hu Qian looked at the Snow Demon Sky Ape's teeth, which sagged even when its mouth was closed, and felt a pang of heartache.

"You've beaten it up like this, you must be satisfied now, right?"

Yang Shan thought for a moment, then beckoned to Zi Yan:

"Little Zi Yan, come here, come here."

She was still willing to listen to her only friend.

Zi Yan came up to Yang Shan, Yang Shan immediately leaned close to Zi Yan's ear and whispered something.

Then Zi Yan began to fly into a rage. "What? You want me to release that monkey? No way! I'm going to beat it to death today! Let me go! Let me go!"

Yang Shan desperately pulled Zi Yan back. "Grandma, she was trained by the Dean of the Outer Courtyard, you should give her some face!"

Zi Yan's eyes widened in surprise:

"Fine! I'll give you face and let it go this time!"

Hu Qian nodded repeatedly, just about to praise Yang Shan for his understanding of things.

Zi Yan's next words almost made Hu Qian lose his balance:

"Next time I come, I'll sneak up and smash its peach with one punch!"

Hu Qian: "No! Little girl, let's talk this out. The snow ape is guarding the Earth Core Body Tempering Fluid. I'll ask it to get you a portion, and we can call it even, okay?"

Zi Yan then looked at Hu Qian with a serious expression:

"Real?"

Hu Qian: "Would I, an old man, lie to a little girl like you?"

Zi Yan smiled and narrowed her eyes:

"Alright then, Grandpa Hu Qian, since you've said so, let's just drop it."

The whispered words Yang Shan spoke to Zi Yan earlier were actually a plea for Zi Yan not to give in, and to wait for Hu Qian to use other good things to resolve the conflict.

Hu Qian is a cunning old fox; how could he not see through it?

But among the students in the Inner Courtyard, the one who gave these senior students the most headaches was Zi Yan.

They're too young; I can't bear to hit them.

Giving up something to send them away isn't a bad idea! Under Hu Qian's orders, the Snow Demon Sky Ape reluctantly went to the cave behind and retrieved two portions of Earth Core Body Tempering Fluid.

The Snow Demon Sky Ape grew to their current state by relying on the Earth Core Body Tempering Fluid, but their race has a secret technique that greatly increases their combat power but causes them to lose their sanity.

Therefore, the Snow Demon Sky Ape needs to reach the sixth rank before it can speak human language.

The Snow Demon Sky Ape was now truly tearful.

The Earth Core Body Tempering Fluid from the cave takes ten years to condense into five portions, and two portions have been lost in one go.

The remaining three portions must definitely be given to Hu Qian; all those ten years of guarding it have been for nothing.

Zi Yan, holding the Earth Core Body Tempering Fluid, exclaimed excitedly:

"Come on, one for you, one for me!"

Yang Shan smiled and said:

"I don't want it."

For players, the effect of the Earth Core Body Tempering Fluid is similar to that of the Heart Blood Meat of Fourth Order Thousand Beast King.

It can also reduce the difficulty of the Heart Demon Trial for a Dou Ling to break through to the Dou Wang level.

Yang Shan is no longer needed.

Zi Yan: "Good friends should share, here you go."

Yang Shan: "A good friend should help you improve your strength quickly, besides, I really don't need this."

Hu Qian also advised, "Girl, just take them all and eat them. Yang Shan really doesn't need them much."

Zi Yan couldn't resist the temptation after all. "Alright, since you've said so, I'll drink it!"

Yang Shan reminded him, "Adjust the flavor first."

"I know!"

As she spoke, Zi Yan opened her mouth and threw the Earth Core Body Tempering Fluid, along with the two flavoring spirit liquids, into her mouth.

Mix with your mouth.

This certainly seems like something Zi Yan would do.

[Ding! Player, please note that Zi Yan believes you are sincere towards her, and her favorability towards you has increased by 1. Current favorability: 28.]

One bottle of Earth Core Body Tempering Fluid costs about 10,000 RMB, and it can earn you a little bit of favorability with Zi Yan, which is definitely a great deal!

Imagine if you could "buy" 1 point of Zi Yan's favorability for 10,000 RMB, then you would just spend 1 million RMB!

When Yang Shan goes to the Ancient Void Dragon Clan in the future, won't those terrifying eighth- or even ninth-order beings respectfully call him "Master Yang"? Later, Yang Shan also learned from Hu Qian that there are many high-level magical beasts in the vast forest outside the Inner Courtyard, which are actually cultivated by the elders of the academy.

After all, it is a natural habitat for monsters.

If we don't take some control measures, it will be very troublesome if the number of monsters becomes too large and causes a monster horde.

However, if all the high-level magical beasts in the forest are "controlled," the beast tide will naturally not be able to form due to the restraint of the high-level magical beasts.

The academy elders never imagined that their fifth-tier King of Beasts or even Thousand Beast King would be killed.

After all, generally speaking, even the Strong Ranking students in the Inner Courtyard don't have that ability.

But things are different now.

This year, several students have surprisingly emerged who are at the Dou Wang level.

Hu Qian felt it was time to go back and say hello to the trainees.

If you encounter high-level magical beasts in the forest in the future, while it's good for training, don't go for the kill!

Yang Shan's plan to obtain a high-level Magic Core in this forest has completely failed.

Zi Yan has been away for quite a while and has taken the Earth Core Body Tempering Fluid, so she is very tired and needs to return to Great Elder Su Qian's place as soon as possible to go into seclusion for some time.

Yang Shan then flew directly to the courtyard where Xiao Xun'er was.

Xiao Xun'er was cultivating in the courtyard when she opened her eyes and saw Yang Shan. A faint smile immediately appeared on her face, "Junior brother, you're back."

Yang Shan: "Yes, I'm back."

These two sentences seem to be completely meaningless.

But for Yang Shan and Xiao Xun'er, this was an essential "communication".

Xiao Xun'er: "The Strong Ranking competition will begin in a few days. Are you ready, junior?"

Yang Shan: Not yet. I came here to ask my senior for a favor.

Xiao Xun'er: "You rarely need help. Have you encountered something difficult?"

"It's quite tricky."

Yang Shan said somewhat awkwardly, "I have nowhere to go."

Xiao Xun'er: "Huh?"

Yang Shan: "I rarely stay in the Inner Courtyard, so I haven't applied for my own accommodation. A few days ago, 30,000 new students just arrived in the Inner Courtyard. I went to the forest to practice Dou Technique. When I came back, all the accommodations had already been allocated."

Xiao Xun'er was speechless for a moment.

Is this what you call a "pretty tricky" situation? Yang Shan: "So I'd like to stay at my senior's place for a few days, since I don't have many friends in the Inner Courtyard."

Xiao Xun'er: "Yes, isn't that junior Su Yitang one?"

Good heavens! Xiao Xun'er's favorability rating is only 16 points.

Why does that sound so sour?

Jealous? Yang Shan actually had a million reasons to explain.

But Yang Shan, that bastard, never even considered explaining!

He pretended to be embarrassed and kept smiling.

He believed that Xiao Xun'er was deliberately teasing her.

So he was waiting for Xiao Xun'er to say it herself.

Sure enough, seeing Yang Shan's comical appearance, Xiao Xun'er said helplessly:

"But I only have one room here."

Yang Shan: "It's okay, I'll just stay in the yard, look, by that tree, I'll sleep in the tree."

Xiao Xun'er: "How can that be?"

Yang Shan: "I'm happy if my senior is willing to take me in."

"You make it sound so pitiful. If you just go out and shout it out, countless upperclassmen and underclassmen in the college would be willing to make room for you!"

Xiao Xun'er had just finished teasing him when she couldn't help but laugh out loud herself.

Seeing Xiao Xun'er's smile, which was breathtakingly beautiful, Yang Shan couldn't help but open the system's built-in camera and start snapping away.

Yang Shan pretended to be annoyed and sat down next to Xiao Xun'er:

"Senior, you're starting to tease me now. Who taught you that?"

Xiao Xun'er said matter-of-factly, "I don't usually talk much to other people, so I can only learn from you."

Yang Shan: "Trying to be as shameless as me?"

Xiao Xun'er shook her head. "Learn from you, be yourself."

Yang Shan took a grape from the bunch of grapes on the table and peeled it skillfully.

"Open your mouth, ah!"

After Xiao Xun'er ate the grapes, Yang Shan said, "If you ate the grapes I peeled, then you have to let me sleep!"

Ling Ying, who was hiding in the shadows, had just been distracted when she came to her senses and heard Yang Shan telling Xiao Xun'er to "let him sleep"? What the hell! Is things progressing this fast? Is the most precious flower of my Ancient Clan going to be taken by this shameless bastard with skin as thick as a city wall?

Ling Ying's killing intent was resolute! But before Ling Ying could appear, Xiao Xun'er said, "Alright, alright, whatever you say."

Listen to this! Xiao Xun'er actually gave in!

"Beast! Yang Shan deserves to die! Miss, I'll cut off this ill-fated relationship for you right now!"

Ling Ying was already gathering her Dou Qi, preparing to launch a surprise attack and instantly kill Yang Shan!

After all, Yang Shan is quite capable now, and once he figured it out, Ling Ying wasn't entirely confident she could keep him.

But Xiao Xun'er's next words almost caused Ling Ying's Dou Qi to malfunction and disrupt his Meridians:

"As long as you don't mind the wind and sun, you can sleep anywhere in this courtyard."

Ling Ying, a dignified Eight Star Dou Huang, was so frightened that cold sweat broke out on his back! It's a misunderstanding!

What a huge misunderstanding! "You're really confused. How could Miss possibly fall for that boy?"

"When you get old, you tend to overthink things! Yes, yes, yes! I'm getting old, and I must never be so impulsive again."

Fortunately, I didn't make a move.

If Yang Shan were really killed, their young lady would be heartbroken.

When Yang Shan came to Xiao Xun'er's courtyard, he flew there in a grand and ostentatious manner.

Those scarlet wings of light were too dazzling.

You can see it from a great distance.

One day, two days, three days... a whole week passed.

No one saw Yang Shan come out of Xiao Xun'er's courtyard! What does this mean? What could this be? Whatever it is! Anyway, Lin Xiuya has already broken five swords while practicing today! Today happens to be the day the Jia Nan Academy's Inner Courtyard Strong Ranking competition begins.

The competition starts with the preliminary rounds, then goes through the main rounds, the semi-finals, and finally the Strong Ranking Tournament.

Due to the large number of participants, the competition process will take approximately half a month.

Of course, students at the Dou Wang level can skip the first three rounds and directly participate in the Strong Ranking Tournament! It's normal for the strong to have privileges.

No one would object to this.

If the Dou Wang isn't qualified to compete in the Strong Ranking Tournament, who will?

The number of Dou Wang students participating in this competition is too many to count on one hand!

Who can snatch the top spot on the Strong Ranking from them?

In the end, it will simply be a matter of these Dou Wang students determining who is superior.

However, in this competition, rewards are not only given to those who make it into the top ten of the Strong Ranking.

There are a total of one hundred spots on the Strong Ranking.

Especially those new players who have just entered the Inner Courtyard are eager to try and show their skills in the competition.

The competition in the Inner Courtyard was in full swing.

But the truly strong are still seizing this last bit of time to hone their skills, hoping to increase their chances of winning in the Strong Ranking Tournament.

In the mountains and forests, Li Batian, the number two figure in the Heaven Flame Alliance, was fighting against a group of elite fourth-tier wolf-type magical beasts.

He's just one little bit more experience points away from being able to take the Heart Demon Trial.

With the Strong Ranking Competition imminent, he must reach the Dou Wang level as soon as possible to see if he can break into the top ten of the Strong Ranking.

Not far from where Li Batian was, a beam of azure light shot out from the waterfall, which was fifty feet high.

Li Batian was momentarily distracted and a fourth-tier wolf beast gnawed at his calf.

But even with its desperate bites, the wolf couldn't break through Li Batian's Dou Qi Armor!

Li Batian knocked him to the ground with two heavy punches.

But my gaze remained fixed on the waterfall.

Li Batian also longed to possess a decent Earth-rank Dou Technique.

However, he was also well aware that cultivating Earth-rank Dou Technique required a significant investment of time and game resources.

Take, for example, Xiao Aotian's "Flame Splitting Tsunami Ruler".

The Earth-tier Low-grade Dou Technique with Golden Word Seal, in terms of power alone, can even rival a Earth Rank Middle-Level Dou Technique!

However, to cultivate, one must find a similar waterfall and use Spirit Stone stones to form an array to increase the pressure of the falling water by dozens of times.

Then, under immense pressure, the ruler's edge passed through the waterfall, which was considered a slight improvement in proficiency.

It takes both time and Spirit Stone.

Xiao Aotian had already mastered the "Flame Splitting Tsunami Ruler" technique to a minor level.

But it's still a long way from reaching its full potential.

Not to mention the level of perfection.

I wonder if I'll be able to master it by the time the Strong Ranking competition starts.

At this moment, Xiao Aotian, who was focused on honing his Dou Technique, suddenly received a message.

"President, the Great God Yang Shan has been staying in Xiao Xun'er's courtyard for a week now! He hasn't left the house at all!"

With just one sentence, Xiao Aotian broke through his defenses! He emerged from the waterfall and flew to the top of the mountain.

"Ahhh"

Xiao Aotian's roar was extremely loud, and all the magical beasts on the mountain were so frightened that they lay down on the ground and dared not move.

The forest outside the Inner Courtyard is vast, so it's not just Xiao Aotian and Li Batian who cultivate there.

Before a icy pool emitting white steam, "Blood Rampage," who was one of the Twelve Emperors in his previous life, threw a large pile of Spirit Stone, along with several demonic Magic Core with chilling demonic Demon Energy, into the pool.

After waiting for a while, Blood Rampage jumped into the icy pool with his head down.

The Earth Rank Low-Level Technique, "Blood Devouring Scripture".

Although it's just Purple Word Seal.

However, cultivation techniques are inherently a level more valuable than Dou Technique of the same level.

Therefore, the difficulty of cultivating the Blood Devouring Scripture is no less than that of the Flame Splitting Tsunami Ruler.

However, one of the characteristics of the Blood Devouring Scripture is that it provides an extra bonus when gaining experience points, which lasts until you reach the Nine-Star Dou Wang.

That's why Blood Rampage was able to raise his level to Dou Wang before the Fire Energy Hunting Competition.

However, the Blood Devouring Scripture, which is only at a minor stage, cannot unlock other features.

If you can master it, you will unlock the "Blood Frenzy" trait. At that time, Blood Rampage will allow you to gain a significant boost in combat power by consuming your own health.

Blood Rampage went to great lengths to find this icy pool.

Su Yitang had it much easier.

Her novel, "The Wind Zenith Sound," is about to reach its conclusion.

Moreover, the cultivation of Wind Zenith Sound is relatively simple.

He just kept playing the piano and singing, relying on time to hone his skills.

After breaking fifty swords in practice, Lin Xiuya chose to come to the Heavenly Flame Training Tower.

As the most important building in the Inner Courtyard, the Heavenly Flame Training Tower has the special effect of accelerating cultivation speed and tempering Dou Qi.

The Heavenly Flame Training Tower has nine levels. The Fire Energy Points required increases with each level you go down, but the cultivation effect will also be better.

Lin Xiuya wanted to go to the bottom of the tower to see if he could break through to the Two-Star Dou Wang.

They happened to run into their old rival Liu Qing.

The two used to be at odds.

But this time, the tension between the two was noticeably less intense than before.

The two used to be considered heroes who admired each other.

Now it's more like "we're all in the same boat".

One of them fell head over heels for Xiao Xun'er.

One of them is deeply in love with Su Yitang.

In the end, Yang Shan ruined everything!

This time, Liu Qing took the initiative to invite him:

"Finished training? Shall we exchange a few moves?"

Lin Xiuya: "So itchy hands? Why not wait until the Strong Ranking competition?"

Liu Qing said coldly, "I wanted to exchange a few moves so that we could both improve. As for the Strong Ranking, I'm going to deal with Yang Shan!"

Lin Xiuya smiled wryly, "Actually, I'd also like to spar with Yang Shan, but I didn't have the chance last time."

Liu Qing: "Then it's settled!"

The two walked side by side.

As the two most handsome men in the Inner Courtyard, their pairing up is enough to make many female SP players drool with excitement!

"Senior Lin, you look so handsome today!"

"Brother Liu, it's been a while since I've seen you. You seem to have gotten even stronger!"

"Senior Liu, can I treat you to a meal after you finish your training?"

"Senior Lin, I'd like to ask you for guidance on swordsmanship. It's alright, your training is more important. I'll wait for you outside the tower."

Lin Xiuya and Liu Qing were already overwhelmed just dealing with the female students.

After finally exchanging Fire Energy Points, we arrived at the bottom level.

I haven't even sat down to start my cultivation yet.

The Heavenly Flame Training Tower suddenly shook violently!

Lin Xiuya and Liu Qing felt an extremely terrifying heat rising wildly from the floor.

The temperature in the training room rose sharply.

Great Elder Su Qian's solemn voice echoed within the tower:

"All students, evacuate the Heavenly Flame Training Tower immediately!"